Nightslug – “Loathe” [Album Review]

Germany’s Nightslug gets it done on Loathe. The band’s third recorded installment is a gritty drag through Sludgy Doom and Hardcore with enough aural toxicity to even make fans of Buzzov*en question what they’ve been doing with their lives.

Nightslug’s only been around for a few years, forming in 2011, but have taken to their self-ascribed “Filth” genre with confidence, putting out a self-titled demo in 2011 and their Dismal Fuckers full-length in 2013. This year, in 2015, the brothers Slug put together a nasty mug of tunes on Loathe that play with the sophistication of rocks in a dyer—the shit simply slams.

Opening track, “Vile Pigs,” bangs out a hot groove of fist-pumping Sludge, and follow-up and title track, “Loathe,” sears with thrashy Grind. “The Thrill is Gone: Repulsion” is a lowly, abysmal heel drag, and “Under a Bane” is a raucous, Obliterations-style punch up of pit-inducing Hardcore. “Disease” is indeed dissonant, unhinged, and unmitigated, and “Pure” is anything but, pummeling with Godflesh-style pulse and feedback. “Tainted Throne” closes out Loathe, but is in no way a declivity—the track simply underscores what makes the album as dastardly damned good as it is: it’s a cacophonous tour of a scrap metal yard.

What Nightslug does best on Loathe is take Sludge and vary it enough to keep the album in sum from sounding like a monolithic wall of tone and not enough groove. Moreover, the band’s hold on Hardcore keeps the tunes moving down the pipeline without getting caught in a din of dissonance and no substance.

Bottom line: Nightslug have managed to siphon Sludge and grit into a handful of cranky tunes that frankly give no fucks about much else other than making as many tight-faced snarls sound as gnarly as possible.

Track Listing:

01. Vile Pigs
02. Loathe
03. The Thrill Is Gone: Repulsion
04. Under A Bane
05. Disease
06. Pure
07. Tainted Throne

Run Time: 31:48
Release Date: June 9, 2015

Check out the album ‘Loathe’ here.